The James Altucher Show

A Note from James:

"Anatomy of a Con Artist. The 14 red flags to spot scammers, grifters, and thieves". This is a book—an amazing book—by Johnathan Walton.

Check out his podcast Queen of the Con, and his new one Cocaine Air. We talk about both in this episode. But his book, Anatomy of a Con Artist, is just dead on.

Johnathan shares how he got conned out of nearly $100,000 by someone posing as an Irish heiress. He breaks down ...

A Note from James:

I was honored to be on the Smart Humans Podcast. I’m a big fan of the show, and I was happy they asked me on—especially since I got to talk about things I don’t usually cover here.

We discussed my specific predictions for investments like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tau, and stablecoin-related tokens like Curve and Aave. We also explored AI’s role across industries, habits that have helped me build and sell compani...

A Note from James:

We kept recording because the conversation wasn’t done. Part 1 was about writing and honesty. Part 2? It’s about consequences—what happens when people believe their own hype, when we confuse being loud with being right, and when storytelling gets weaponized. Ryan Holiday has written about ego, stillness, and obstacles. But this part of the conversation gets at something deeper: what happens when power and...

A Note from James:

Ryan Holiday is one of the few writers I consider a peer—not just because of the work he’s done, but because of the choices he's made along the way. We’ve both published a lot of books. We've both dealt with audiences, platforms, and the weight of having a “point of view” in a world that increasingly wants you to pick a side. This episode wasn’t meant to be a debate or an interview. It was just two people...

A Note from James:

When I first said that college was a scam, people thought I was joking—or worse. But I wasn’t. If you’re 18 and listening to this, don’t go to college. And if you’re a parent, don’t send your kid without doing the math. College doesn’t guarantee a better life anymore. In fact, it could cost you years of freedom, tens of thousands of dollars, and saddle you with debt you can’t escape. In this episode, Doug...

A Note from James:

Owning a home has been sold to us as the American dream. But what if it's actually a financial nightmare? In this episode, I talk with my friend Doug Hill about why I think buying a house is a bad idea—not just a little bad, but one of the worst investments you can make. Doug and I disagree on some points, and that's the fun part. This isn't about being contrarian for the sake of it. It's about questionin...

A Note from James:

So Chef Curtis Duffy—he’s won Michelin Stars, a James Beard Award. He’s been on Netflix’s Iron Chef, was a judge on Top Chef season 21, and he’s even shown up in The Bear. He runs the Chicago restaurants Ever and Grace, and he wrote this incredible memoir called Fireproof: Memoir of a Chef.

I could list all the accolades, but what really got me was his story—it's one of the most intense and heartbreaking I...

A Note from James:

Miesha Tate—at first, I’ve got to admit, I didn’t know much about UFC or MMA. But Miesha was the World Bantamweight Champion, and she fought Ronda Rousey—probably the most famous female fighter in the sport. I watched one of their fights, and honestly, I don’t know how I’d survive even a quarter of a second.

But the conversation we had wasn’t what I expected. Miesha opened up about the mindset behind champ...

A Note from James:

One of the funniest guys I’ve ever spoken to—Dave Barry. I always love talking to him. He’s been America’s top humorist since the early ’80s with a syndicated column in 500 newspapers and a long list of bestselling books. This is his third time on the podcast, and his latest book, Class Clown: Memoirs of a Professional Wiseass, is out now.

We get into everything—his process, his adventures, and his signatu...

Notes from James:

I had no idea this conversation would go where it did. I thought we’d talk chess. Instead, we talked about life, trauma, manipulation, redemption… and how one of the world’s most popular games can be both a tormentor and a savior.

Episode Description:

In this raw and powerful episode, I sat down with Danny Rensch—International Master, Chief Chess Officer of Chess.com, and author of the upcoming memoir Da...

A Note from James:

Man, what a fascinating career Robert Rosenkranz has had—multi-billionaire, involved in virtually every part of finance and American industry. He wrote a book called The Stoic Capitalist, and what really stands out is how he's actively applied stoic principles to achieve immense success throughout his career. Even from a young age, stoicism played a crucial role, guiding him through critical business deci...

Notes from James:

When I turned 40, I was depressed. I checked the top 50 chess players and saw only one person around my age: Viswanathan Anand. That moment gave me hope.

Episode Description:

I met one of my lifelong heroes—five-time World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand—and got to sit down with him at the Norway Summit to unpack what it really takes to stay at the top… for four decades. We didn’t just talk about chess—we t...

A Note from James:

So I’ve been doing this podcast for a long time—over 1500 episodes—and I’ve spoken to everyone from billionaires to best-selling authors, athletes to entrepreneurs. But there are a handful of episodes that still ring in my ears years later. One of them was Episode 156 with Gary Vaynerchuk.

I was just re-listening to it while pulling together notes for a potential book, and I realized this conversation is t...

A Note from James:

So the question is, I really feel that in order to get not good at something, but great at something, you have to be obsessed. You can't just wake up and decide to be obsessed—it has to be deep, almost irrational. Obsession is like addiction. It throws your life off balance, and yet... there’s this insane joy when you enter the subculture of your obsession and get better at it.

I’ve seen this recently in c...

A Note from James:

Michael Dell. Founder of Dell. I remember in college, hearing about this kid who was building computers in his dorm and making millions. I thought it was a myth. It wasn’t. He’s the real thing—and he just kept going.

I wanted to understand what drove him, what it felt like to deal with Carl Icahn trying to wrestle his company from him, and what success feels like after decades of being in the game. Also: I...

Notes from James:

Most people get stuck at the idea stage. That’s why I’m sharing frameworks—so you’re not staring at a blank screen. These techniques have helped hundreds of people (including me) go from idea to published book in just 30 days.

Episode Descriptions:

In Part 5 of my 30-day writing series, I unveil four of the most powerful book-writing frameworks I’ve ever used or taught—and they’ve helped hundreds of people w...

Episode Description:

James reconnects with entrepreneurs Michael and Kass Lazerow, whose journey spans selling Golf.com for $24 million, launching and pivoting Buddy Media into a $700 million Salesforce acquisition, and now investing in breakout brands like Liquid Death. This episode isn’t about startup clichés—it’s about emotional resilience, firing with kindness, how marriage can (barely) survive co-founding, and how to s...

Notes from James:

Let’s be honest: most people who write a book never make money from it. Why? Because they stop at the last page. I want you to go further. In this episode, I show you how I turned my books into speaking gigs, consulting work, investment deals, and more. You don’t need a big publisher or a massive budget—just the right strategy.

Episode Descriptions:

In Part 4 of my 30-day writing series, I tackle one of the ...

A Note from James:

Well, you can't get more information about tariffs and the economy than what I just got and you're about to listen to. Wilbur Ross, who was Secretary of Commerce under the first administration of Trump, just came on the podcast. I got to ask any question I wanted—about tariffs, the economy, everything.

Don't forget, in Trump’s first administration, we saw steel and aluminum tariffs, and there were all the ...